


The Sheltering Storm

by SingManyFaces



Category: Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Force Bond (Star Wars), Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Inspired By Tumblr
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-03 22:49:00
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,097
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24943381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SingManyFaces/pseuds/SingManyFaces
Summary: A thunderstorm allows Anakin and Ahsoka to learn a little more about each other, and deepen their bond.
Relationships: Anakin Skywalker & Ahsoka Tano, Obi-Wan Kenobi & Anakin Skywalker
Comments: 22
Kudos: 183





	The Sheltering Storm

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Jedi June prompt **Symbiosis/Connection**.

The name of the planet they were currently on had slipped Anakin’s mind but, for the moment, he didn’t care. Setting up the encampment had gone smoothly, and the men were safe and asleep—or patrolling the perimeter. There was a storm rolling in from the south, thunder rumbling loud before the clouds streaked purple with lightning. As he sat in the open door of his small barracks, he breathed easier in the charged air.

“Trouble sleeping, Master?”

Over his shoulder he saw Ahsoka making her way over from their bunks, her steps a little more unsteady than usual, and slid over to give her more room to sit. “Always,” he snorted ruefully. Then, waving toward the clouds, “But at least there’s a good light show tonight.”

Ahsoka made a noncommittal noise as she sat down heavily.

Beside him she felt like a small thundercloud all her own, unintentionally bleeding pain and discontent into their bond. It was unusual from her, something he hadn’t quite felt before. “What’s keeping you up, Snips?” Her storm eased a bit when he draped an arm around her.

Her head fell against him, pressing her temple into his shoulder. “Your light show,” she told him, trying not to sound as miserable as she felt.

“You don’t like storms?” Even as a small child he’d loved them—provided they weren’t the angry, violent sandstorms that had kept them boarded up inside. The feeling only grew once he’d gotten to Coruscant; there was just something about watching the turbulent skies that brought him a sense of peace, familiarity.

“I like the rain,” she sighed, “Raindrops are soothing, even when it’s a downpour. But without them...” Another sigh, and she soothed a hand down one of her lekku, “The thunder just makes my montrals ache.”

“Oh, Snips, I—” That had never occurred to him. But it should have, he admonished himself, since he knew she couldn’t use sonic showers. Thinking quickly, he asked her, “Let me try something?”

Her brow scrunched into a doubtful look, but she hummed her agreement.

Carefully he extricated himself from her but he didn’t go far, sliding back a bit further in the doorway so that he could put his legs on either side of her before scooting closer again. He closed his hands loosely around hers. “Obi-Wan used to do this for me.”

Ahsoka snickered as she felt his chin come to rest on the valley between her montrals, amusement curling through the Force. “Did Obi-Wan do that, too?”

He smiled even though she couldn’t see it. “Believe it or not, yes.” Closing his eyes, he drew a deep breath through his nose before letting it stream out through his mouth, finding his center more easily than usual. Anakin reached into himself in the Force to find the shining cord that bound Ahsoka and him, gave it a little tug as he murmured, “Can you feel me?”

Even with his eyes closed he could tell that she was rolling hers. Her voice was as rueful as his had been before, though he could feel her warm amusement, too, “Always.”

“Half-way there.” Turning inward again he sought the threads of the Force within himself and began to weave them tightly together. Soon enough he could pull it protectively over himself, blanket-like; he reached again for the bond he shared with Ahsoka and wove it in too, used it to drape the protective field around her as well.

“Oh—” she breathed, “that feels...”

“Better?”

Ahsoka sagged back against his chest. “It’s definitely starting to.”

Relieved, he opened his eyes to look out on the storm. “I used to get overwhelmed pretty easily when I first came to the temple,” he explained eventually. “Suddenly being around so many other Force sensitives, it all felt so...” he let go of a sigh at the memory, “loud. So Obi-Wan would do something like this sometimes, when it got to be too much for me.”

A memory passed between them then, of a fresh-faced Obi-Wan and a tiny Anakin sitting in much the same way that they were now. Ahsoka tried to stifle a giggle; it was hard for her to imagine a time when her towering master was so much smaller than his own. Her amusement glowed, warm and soft, along their bond and drew another small smile from him. He kept his voice quiet, “It’s a different kind of loud, I know, but I thought it might still work.” 

Already she felt more relaxed in his arms, the pain slowly ebbing from her end of their bond. “So,” she asked after another moment, “you like storms?” Then, almost timidly, “I didn’t think Tatooine saw a lot of rain.”

“It didn’t,” he agreed, “but there was plenty enough heat for dry thunder and lightning.” She was carefully trying not to ask about his past; he could feel the questions beginning to crowd her mind, and the effort she put into quieting them. As a thanks, he volunteered, “If it came close enough, I’d go foraging for lightning glass afterward—that was the best part.”

“ _Lightning glass?_ ”

Anakin nodded, Ahsoka’s head rocking gently along with the motion. “When it strikes the ground and fuses the sand,” he explained. “Mostly it just makes interesting shapes—was able to trade a few for supplies now and then. But once?” Beneath his chin, she tilted her head inquisitively. “Once I found a chunk that was smooth as black crystal.” A gentle glow—rare from him in its softness—mingled with hers across their bond at the memory. “I still have it.” Huffing a laugh, “When Obi-Wan first told me how lightsabers worked, I wanted to use it to power mine.”

“Really?” Ahsoka twisted carefully to see his face, curiosity written plainly all over hers. “Did it work?”

“Not at all,” he chuckled, “But he still let me try it anyway.” Anakin took a deep, cleansing breath, shifting his arms to wrap them loosely around Ahsoka’s shoulders. “I’ll show it to you later.”

She giggled, a new lightness radiating from her into the Force as she settled back against him to watch the storm rolling slowly closer in the sky. “You know,” she murmured after a time, “you were right, Master.”

“I often am.” His humor rippled across their bond as he ran a soothing hand down her lek. “About what this time?”

With her head clear she looked out at the mounting storm, wrapped up in her master who was _stronger_ than the storm, and settled a hand on his arm. “It _is_ a good light show.” 

**Works inspired by this one:**

  * [[podfic] The Sheltering Storm](https://archiveofourown.org/works/25798147) by [KeeperofSeeds](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KeeperofSeeds/pseuds/KeeperofSeeds)




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